Jay Z Debuts new music streaming service Tidal in most awkward press conference ever

Jay Z is entering the music streaming game via the streaming service Tidal, which he launched today along with 16 artist stakeholders including Beyonce, Rihanna, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Jason Aldean, Madonna, Alicia Keys, Coldplay, and more. Many of these artists changed their Twitter pictures to a cyan-blue square in support of the #TIDALforALL hashtag for the debut.

"People are not respecting the music, and devaluing what it really means," Jay Z told Billboard. "People really feel like music is free, but will pay $6 for water. You can drink water free out of the tap and it's good water. But they're okay paying for it. It's just the mindset right now."

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Jay Z Tidal Launch Event in NYC

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Jay Z Debuts new music streaming service Tidal in most awkward press conference ever

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 30: (L-R) Madonna, Deadmau5, Kanye West, and JAY Z onstage at the Tidal launch event #TIDALforALL at Skylight at Moynihan Station on March 30, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Roc Nation)

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 30: (L-R) Deadmau5, Usher, Kanye West, and JAY Z onstage at the Tidal launch event #TIDALforALL at Skylight at Moynihan Station on March 30, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Roc Nation)

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 30: Madonna onstage at the Tidal launch event #TIDALforALL at Skylight at Moynihan Station on March 30, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Roc Nation)

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 30: Jay Z attends the Tidal launch event #TIDALforALL at Skylight at Moynihan Station on March 30, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images For Roc Nation)

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 30: (Exclusive Coverage) Dan Parise, Jay Z and Beyonce attend the Tidal launch event #TIDALforALL at Skylight at Moynihan Station on March 30, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images For Roc Nation)

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 30: (L-R) Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Madonna, Deadmau5, Kanye West, JAY Z, and J. Cole onstage at the Tidal launch event #TIDALforALL at Skylight at Moynihan Station on March 30, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Roc Nation)

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 30: (L-R) Usher, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, and Madonna onstage at the Tidal launch event #TIDALforALL at Skylight at Moynihan Station on March 30, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Roc Nation)

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 30: Nicki Minaj and Madonna attend the Tidal launch event #TIDALforALL at Skylight at Moynihan Station on March 30, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images For Roc Nation)

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 30: Rihanna onstage at the Tidal launch event #TIDALforALL at Skylight at Moynihan Station on March 30, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Roc Nation)

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 30: Daft Punk (L) and Beyonce onstage at the Tidal launch event #TIDALforALL at Skylight at Moynihan Station on March 30, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Roc Nation)

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 30: Kanye West (L) and JAY Z onstage at the Tidal launch event #TIDALforALL at Skylight at Moynihan Station on March 30, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Roc Nation)

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Despite the fact that Jay Z is obviously paying unreal amounts of money for bottled water (seriously, somebody help him), you can subscribe to Tidal for $9.99 a month, or $19.99 for "high-definition audio." This model is in contrast to services like Spotify, which offers a $9.99 per month premium service as well as a free ad-based option. Spotify reports to have over 60 million active users worldwide including more than 15 million premium users. There is no free option for Tidal because SORRY FREELOADERS, you have to pay more for music than Jay Z pays for water.

In all seriousness, Tidal might be a really cool thing, but as for the star-studded launch, there are some things we have to comment on. Like...